Joe Sample - R.I.P.

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Captain Bacardi

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Keyboardist and founding member of The Crusaders passed away last night at the age of 75. From The Jazz Line website: http://thejazzline.com/news/2014/09/joe-sample-dead-jazz-pianist/

Joe Sample, Iconic Jazz Pianist & Composer, Is Dead at 75

Joe Sample, who spent more than five decades as a jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer creating awe-inspiring music that transcended genres and inspired countless musicians, died on Friday, September 12 in Houston, TX. He was 75.

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Sample’s family confirmed the sad news with a post on his Facebook page, which read: “At 9:50pm (Houston,TX time), September 12, 2014, Joe Sample passed. His wife Yolanda and his son Nicklas would like to thank all of you, his fans and friends, for your prayers and support during this trying time. Please know that Joe was aware and very appreciative of all of your prayers, comments, letters/cards and well wishes.”

The exact cause of death was not confirmed by his family; however, Sample suffered from a number of health issues over the last few years. After suffering a heart attack in 1994, and a second in 2009, he was recently hospitalized once again due to pneumonia. Sample attributed these struggles to “the vagaries of life, and a little bit of old age.”

While these struggles forced him to cancel a number of shows recently, including a planned three-day residency at London’s Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club last month, the electricity that filled the room whenever he played would never give away his age.

Joseph Leslie Sample was born on February 1, 1939 in Houston, TX. He found himself enamored shortly after being introduced to the piano at just five years of age, and stuck with the instrument throughout childhood. He eventually went on to study music performance at Texas Southern University, where he teamed up with his old friends saxophonist Wilton Felder, drummer Stix Hooper, trombonist Wayne Henderson, and several other musicians to form The Jazz Crusaders (later, just The Crusaders).

The then-teenagers would travel across the Gulf states, playing dive bars and strip clubs trying to emulate music by the likes of John Coltrane. “There was nothing city-slick about what we did,” Sample told The Independent in 1995 about the group’s musical origins.

The group never graduated from TSU. Instead, they moved from Houston to Los Angeles in the late ’50s to pursue their musical aspirations as a hard-bop group, which was the dominant style of jazz in that era. The group quickly stood out from the crowd for their unique sound, which included Henderson and Felder playing choruses in unison.

This praise gave them the confidence to experiment much more with their music, until they eventually hit on a winning formula by incorporating elements of soul and funk into a unique fusion that effectively pioneered the styles and techniques we continue to hear in contemporary jazz, and other genres, to this day.

“We are the fathers of jazz-funk-fusion,” Henderson told the LA Times in 1995. “We took pop tunes… and did them melodically with a groove, so people could dance if they wanted.”

The Jazz Crusaders recorded their first album, Freedom Sound, in 1961; which served as the first of more than 40 albums the group released - 19 of which would go on to chart in the Billboard 200. They dropped the “jazz” from their name in 1971 order to align audience expectations with the increasingly experimental sounds and catchy grooves that saw them depart further from what is traditionally called ‘jazz.’ The group added an electric bassist and guitarist, and Sample started experimenting with electric keyboards – Including the Fender Rhodes. This ushered in a new era for the group, which continued until they broke up in 1987.

Sample’s experimental energy, electric virtuosity, and unique compositions made him a highly sought-after performer and composer, and laid the groundwork for him to work with the likes of Marvin Gaye, Anita Baker, Joni Mitchell, and many others throughout the height of the Crusader’s success and beyond.

Sample was also a critically acclaimed solo performer in his own right, working with other musicians to record 21 solo albums in a career that spanned more than 50-years. He also holds writing, production, and performing credits on countless other releases.

He was truly one of the most influential pianists of a generation, and stands as fixture of contemporary jazz.

Sample is survived by his wife Yolanda and his son Nicklas.



Capt. Bacardi
 
Just read it on npr.org. I like a particular version of "Street Life" that is on an album called, Sample This. I first heard that on Sirius XM Watercolors two years ago, and discovered the rest of his output from there. I always knew his name and knew, of course, that he had composed "Street Life", and recorded a few versions of it, but I hadn't heard anything he did beyond that, as I said, until a couple of years ago.
 
I could not believe it when I heard that Joe had left us. I am truly and deeply saddened by his passing. After my introduction to jazz via Herb Alpert, I decided that I wanted to hear more music like this. So I searched and searched until I found some jazz stations to listen to. One of them was a station that played easy listening music by day, then jazz at night. The jazz program was hosted by Les Davis, and he played Joe a lot;particularly the 'hit' he had at the moment which was NIGHTFLIGHT from THE HUNTER lp. I really loved that tune; a relaxing, mellow yet strong groove that has stayed with me to this day.

Also, I love his CARMEL album(which I'm now playing by the way), but if you want to hear Joe at his jazziest, you have to get his INVITATION cd, which has him playing standards, complete with combo and orchestra.IMO, it's Joe's best cd ever, and i would suggest that anybody that is into jazz, get this cd.

As we all know, Joe has an A&M/Alpert connection: Herb did his version of Joe and the Crusaders hit, Street Life, on the RISE lp, and Herb had Joe play piano on his own tune. Anyway, my prayers to the Sample family and friends, and to Joe: thank you maestro for your beautiful and inspiring music through out the years, and helping me thru some of the toughest times of my life via your music. You will be missed.
 
I can name a ton (OK, no, but quite a few!) of albums he's played on that I really like.

My first thought, however, is that I am so glad me and my buddy drove down to Trenton MI to see him at a small jazz festival back around 2003 or 2004. It was just a trio setting. The festival was on Elizabeth Park (which is almost like an island), and the stage backed up to the river. At one point, Joe turned out to the water and said he was playing "this one" for the boaters, as there were dozens of boats parked out there. That of course got a cheer from the water side of the concert. :laugh:

It goes without saying that I like quite a few of his albums, Carmel being my favorite among his solo recordings. Spellbound was cool with the guest vocalists Al Jarreau, Michael Franks and Take 6; local radio played tracks from that album constantly when it came out! And of course, his work with the Crusaders is great also. Around here, and especially on R&B radio, "Street Life" was a stone classic, even in its complete 11 minute version which the stations played all the way through, and it brought Randi Crawford to our attention (and she'd gone on from there to do a lot of really nice R&B/soul/jazz-flavored albums). One of my favorite tracks of Sample's is "Hippies On A Corner." Very minimalistic, yet has an unmistakable groove to it. And Rainbow Seeker is another album that comes to mind which I've played quite often.

Anyway, two of my favorite guest shots. He performed a piano solo and co-wrote "Enough" by Simply Red (from A New Flame), which is one of my favorite tracks of theirs. He also played a major part in Michael Franks' first Warner Bros. album The Art Of Tea, another one that has grown on me over the years for its simplistic laid-back grooves that provide just enough tasteful accompaniment.

I keep thinking I may have seen him at another concert--I recall a multi-artist concert I went to that featured George Duke, David Sanborn, Roberta Flack, Al Jarreau, and one other major artist. This lineup (with Sample) did tour under the Montreux banner in 2000, but I swore it was later than that.
 
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